My Loving Manipulation: An AxelxReader Fanfic
by Bayanette Winters
Summary: After Lea wakes up from his 1-year coma, he finds that his ex-lover is still romantically involved with an old rival from his past. Determined to get his life back on track, Lea tries to break free from the ties of his old gang and win back the love of his life...but can he do it without manipulation? And can he really change his life for the better? (Updates Weekends.) AxelxReader
1. I'm Awake!

**Part One: I'm Awake!**

Lea shook out his hair, sitting down on his bed. He glanced around the dorm room with a tired gaze. The cheap white walls were bare, as was most of the room. There wasn't much else, other than a hand-me-down desk, a large curtainless window, and trunk full of old clothes. Lea gave a sigh, listening to the sound echo against the walls. Odd that they could echo in such a small space. Perhaps it was just a side effect of his exhaustion.

The room's door opened. It creaked rather loudly as the blue-haired Isa entered. His amber contacts shined in the pane's fading daylight.

"How are you feeling?" He asked Lea, his voice as monotone as the redhead remembered. Lea knew, however, that Isa meant well beneath the low tone.

"Tired," Lea admitted. "Which is funny...you'd think I'd gotten enough sleep in the damn hospital." A release form was crumpled in the redhead's hands. He tore a piece from it and tossed it on the floor. Then he tore another off. And another.

"I imagine that being in a coma for a year does that to you," Isa pointed out. "Your body will likely need some time to adjust to being up and about."

Lea examined his arms, which had slimmed immensely during his time at the hospital. He gave Isa a large grin. "Man, look at how starved I am. Got anything to eat here?"

The corner of Isa's mouth turned up slightly. He gestured to the door. "I'll take you out. My treat...this time."

"'This time', eh? So this isn't so much a gift as it is a favor."

"You _still_ owe me for a lot of favors. Don't tell me your little nap made you forget."

"Nah, I haven't forgotten. You wouldn't let a guy forget, even if he was on his deathbed." Lea smiled. "But I don't mind. I'll pay ya back as much as I can once I get my bearings." Although Lea wasn't entirely sure how he'd pay Isa back for letting him move into the 2-bed, 1-bath dorm. Having no place to go himself, Lea was grateful to have a friend take him in—even if his attitude occasionally said otherwise.

"I think that getting into college will be good for you right now," Isa said. "Once you've had the summer to readjust to the awakened world, having a set schedule—and something productive to do for once—will be good for you."

"What about the ol' gang? What have they been up to?"

"The usual. I don't keep in touch with them any more. Ever since I left, however, things have been...quiet from them."

Lea nodded absently as they left the dorm house. The breeze outside was gentle and refreshing; Lea's overly-pale skin could tell that it'd been a long time since he'd felt something so real and relaxing. He inhaled deeply, letting the scent of crunchy leaves and car pollution fill his lungs. It helped his body wake up a bit, making the man smile widely.

As Lea and Isa walked towards the downtown area, the redhead kept noticing the most peculiar things: A boy smiling at a girl from across his cafe table. The girl smiling back with a light blush in her cheeks. A couple walking hand-in-hand through a small crowd outside a restaurant.

"How's Sparky been?" Lea asked suddenly. Isa gave his friend a look from the corner of his eye.

"You mean (y/n)?" He asked. Lea nodded. Isa answered with an odd sort of nonchalance: "She's fine, last I heard."

"What's she been up to?"

"I don't keep tabs on the girl, Lea," Isa muttered a bit harshly. When Lea gave him a look with slight and subtle desperation, the blue-haired man huffed. "I saw her at the university a few times last semester. She's been changing her studies around quite a bit and just settled on teaching as her major. High school focus, I think."

"Mm." Lea's mind wasn't racing, but many thoughts were swirling around his mind. "And Riku?"

Isa gave his companion a cautious glance. "Let it go, Lea."

"I'm just curious," Lea insisted. "Last thing I remember before conkin' out was her's and Riku's panicked faces. Just wanna make sure sh— _they're_ okay."

Isa let out another brief sigh. "They just celebrated their one-and-a-half-year anniversary a few months ago."

"Ah." Leah glanced at the sky. It was pink, fading to a dark blue as it followed the sun's descent. "Good for them."

"Mm." There was silence for a few moments.

"So...does she ask about me?" More questions circled Lea's brain: Did she know he was awake? Did she ever come to visit him while he was in the hospital? Did she keep as many tabs on his condition as Isa had?

"Not usually," Isa answered. "She's been occupied with other matters." The fierce yellow eyes met Lea's confused expression. "She's moved on Lea. You should as well."

"I know, I know," Lea mumbled. "Just another thing to work on over the summer." But Lea's reply didn't even come across as half-hearted. He knew "Sparky" too well. He knew _himself_ too well.

And he always knew when Isa was lying.


	2. Old News

**Part Two: Old News**

Lea spent most of the summer working out and adjusting to a new sleeping schedule. Once his body was feeling more like itself, he started to do other things to keep his mind occupied: fixed up his old bullet-bike to get around town. Got a part-time job as a bike mechanic. Hung out with Isa (when the man wasn't busy with his own work at the local library). He even had time and a little money to buy some things for his dorm room.

However, whenever there was a free moment alone, he checked up on his Sparky. They were still friends on Facebook from before his accident. She posted rather often, it seemed. The most recent posts were about her anniversary with Riku. They were accompanied by pictures of the two snuggled close together and smiling widely. Lea skipped past most of those. Other posts were about her schooling, various foods she'd made for the first time, statuses on hanging out with her best friend, Kairi…

Then, under the year before last, there were posts about Lea. The redhead took particular interest in these. A lot of them were updates on his condition at the time, or hopes that he was going to recover soon. They tapered off after a few months, but not before a final post reading, "I wish I had the chance to thank him. For everything.".

Lea went to his own feed, struggling to remember what he'd posted before the incident. His cover photo showed him and the Black XIII's in a panoramic shot, lined up neatly with their bikes. (Y/n) was attached to Lea's hip, wearing his black jacket and smiling at the camera as Lea snuck in a cheek-smooch. His profile picture was one from quite some time ago. It showed his shoulder covered in plastic just after getting his "VIII" tattoo. Lea touched it absently as he scrolled through his posts. The most recent was of his two-year anniversary with his Sparky. It showed a picture of them at the local bar together. He had his tongue sticking out and one eye winking at the camera. Both of her brilliant (e/c) eyes were closed as her mouth was wide open in a fitful laugh. They had drinks in their hand, nearly falling from their grasps as they enjoyed their night together.

"That was a week before she broke things off, I think," Lea muttered, leaning back from his laptop and starting at the ceiling. Of all of the things that had happened before the accident, the break-up memory was the most fuzzy to him. There was a faint inkling of alcohol, then his babbling about something rather terrible. There was a slap to his face, a harsh return of words, and then nothing. Lea grumbled in frustration and went back to his feed.

Not a moment later did his Sparky make a new post. It said that she was helping with the school's orientation meeting that night, and that she would be glad to have anyone stop by to help. Lea recalled that he was required to go to the event, but hadn't been planning on it. It seemed that, at that moment, he had a new reason to go.

Isa was sitting on the couch in the lounge/kitchen area of the dorm. It barely housed the red sofa, leaving only a small amount of room for a TV and a bookshelf before stepping into the kitchen's territory. The yellow-eyed man gave Lea a strange look.

"Where are you headed?" Isa asked as he set his book down. In only an instant, he knew that _something_ was afoot. Maybe it was the way Lea kept his face controlled and fought not to show any excitement.

"The orientation. Figure I may as well get acquainted with the school while I've got the chance."

Isa glared. His phone was in his lap, though it appeared to be off at the moment. "Oh? I thought you said the events were 'for squares'."

"I didn't say _that_ ," Lea insisted. "I don't talk like a 53-year old, man."

"Nonetheless. What made you change your mind?"

Lea sighed. "Just need to get out of my room for a while. I'm tired of sitting on my damn computer looking up pictures of flame-tattoos."

Isa grinned a bit. "You wouldn't shut up about getting one a few months before the incident."

"Yeah. Still want one. Just don't know which yet." Lea waved. "I'll be back later. Don't wait up, _mom_."

Isa huffed, returning to his book. "Just don't get into trouble, like you always do."

"C'mon, I'm a changed man, remember?"

Lea left without another word. Isa probably got the same post notification as he did, but hadn't said anything. Maybe he just didn't have the energy to stop the hothead. Or maybe there was something he wanted Lea to see.


	3. Remember Me?

**Part Three: Remember Me?**

The orientation was scheduled to be in the school's ballroom. From what Lea understood, it was where the vast majority of big events were held. It was very large and decorated with ornate chandeliers and drapery, but nothing held Lea's attention. He was a man on a mission and had other things to think about.

As he started to go through the entrance, a voice called up to him: "Hey, you need a nametag."

Lea glanced at a booth beside the door, where a female brunette and a blonde male sat.

"Oh, okay," Lea said, approaching the spot. He stared at the crowd inside, his eyes searching for a particular woman. He wasn't sure _what_ she was doing to help with the event, but that shouldn't have made her hard to find, right?

"...Is that you, Lea?"

Lea quickly glanced back down at the female. Now that he was actually looking at her, he recognized the woman as Kairi. Her long brown hair and deep blue eyes stared at Lea in surprise. She blinked often, as though trying to make sure her gaze wasn't deceiving her.

"Yeah," Lea answered nonchalantly. "Good to see ya again, Kairi."

At last, the woman stood and came around the table. She threw her arms around Lea's chest.

"I can't believe it!" She exclaimed. Kairi pulled back and stared up at Lea. Her hands clasped joyfully in front of her chest. "We had no idea! When did you wake up?"

"About three months ago," Lea answered. His eyes still flickered towards the ballroom, but he kept the movements subtle.

"That's so great! I'm so glad that you're okay! We all thought...we weren't sure when you'd wake up."

"Yeah." Lea mumbled. He wasn't in the mood to talk with old friends just yet. "So...you mentioned something about a name tag?"

"Oh, yes." Kairi shuffled through a stack of small cards on the table and pulled out Lea's name. She stared at it for a moment before helping him pin the tag to his shirt. "There you go. So, you're going to start college, then?"

"Yep. Thought I'd do something useful with my life for once."

Kairi smiled kindly. "She'll be glad to hear."

A thought occurred to Lea then. Perhaps it would be worth his time to stay and chat. "How is Sparky, anyway? Been keeping busy?"

Kairi's expression fell just a bit. "Y-yeah. She's been great."

"I heard she's here too. What's she doing?"

"She's…." The brunette hesitated. "She's in charge of the event. She's in the Honors program and was asked to help keep the schedule going…." She trailed off.

"Man, she's really moved up in the world." Lea headed forward, ready to find his Sparky.

"Wait, Lea."

Lea turned around. Kairi's normally cheerful face had fallen into one of uncertainty. Her eyes squinted and her mouth kept moving, testing out a few silent words before actually speaking.

"Lea, it might not be a good idea to talk to her. Not so suddenly, anyway."

"Why not?" The redhead rose his brow. Kairi wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Just...maybe think about things before you approach her."

Lea gave his friend a look, but went on his way.

The ballroom seemed huge from the outside, but when squished shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of other students, the place became inexplicably smaller. Lea eventually had to maneuver himself towards the walls to have some semblance of space. A few others mingled there. Some were couples looking for a place to share lusty whispers and others were just loners, wishing they were much more alone again. Lea sighed and folded his arms over his chest. His eyes examined the crowd. There was a vast age range, starting at 17 or 18 and ranging all of the way up to 35. Lea was surprised, though felt that he shouldn't be; Harts University was best known for its broad spectrum of students. Wait, was it Harts University? Was that the name? Lea checked his name tag. His name was written in perfect cursive scrawl about the university's name. It was just as he'd thought.

Lea shook his head; he was relieved that he wasn't crazy, but he felt that his memory was off sometimes. What else could he be forgetting?

A certain flash caught his eye. He _knew_ that hair. He'd touched it so many times that even know, he could feel the individual strands tickling his fingers. A small smile pulled at his lips as he started making his way back through the crowd. Something he had over most others was his above-average height, so it was easy for him to keep track of the shining head. As he came closer to it, he could hear the sweet voice that accompanied the strands.

"Waka, you have the lighting all ready for the guest speaker?" She said, her tone high and stressed like a too-tight violin string. "Waka, you had one damn job! We went over this a thousand times!"

Lea suddenly recalled this "Mitch" fellow. It was Sparky's older brother. They'd always gotten along just fine, but often bickered when tensions got high. Waka usually started the fights, which blew Lea's mind; the man was usually so calm and laid back. But when it came to his little sister, there was a total personality change.

The memories of their fights made Lea's brain hurt a bit. He paused his stride and touched his head. He hadn't thought about Waka once since waking up. Did that mean he'd...forgotten about him?

Sparky's voice calmed down, giving out a sigh. "Thanks, Waka. I'll let the university president know it'll be a few minutes. Just do what you can." Then, she turned around.

Lea was standing only a few feet away with his hand still on his head. He moved it away as Sparky's eyes met his. Both stood perfectly still for a moment as their minds processed just _who_ was standing before them. Sparky's mouth hung open slightly, her beautiful eyes wide and still as they examined his face. Lea's emerald gaze checked every feature he could of his love from her strong, familiar face to her short and lovely figure. Her hair was a bit shorter than he remembered, and even her features seemed to have matured some. Though Lea didn't always tell her so, he found every little detail of her look to be absolutely perfect.

Why _hadn't_ he told her that every day? Maybe things would be different. Or maybe whatever happened during their breakup was something that couldn't have been prevented with frequent compliments.

Lea shook out of his thoughts and approached his Sparky. With each step closer to her, his signature grin spread and he felt more like the person he was before the coma.

"What's wrong, Sparky?" He greeted, his sarcastic tone rising over the buzzing crowd around them. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I…." Sparky stuttered. Realizing how stunned she was, she cleared her throat and shook her head. "I...you know I hate that nickname."

Lea laughed aloud. "Right. Well, (y/n) just doesn't seem personal enough sometimes."

These were words he'd spoken before. His love smiled despite herself. "It really is you. How...when did you come out of the coma?"

"Just a few months ago," Lea answered. "I thought about callin' ya a couple of times, but...I wasn't sure how you'd react."

"Lea…" Sparky's eyes watered. She came closer to Lea, and he could smell her old scent. It brought him immense comfort, despite the fact that he couldn't recall the name of the perfume she loved. "I can't believe it's you. After a while, I really thought…."

She was in range for a hug, but Lea instead rose his hand and plopped in onto her head. He rubbed her hair gently, accidentally messing with a microphone headband.

"It takes more than a little nap to keep me down, kiddo," he stated. Sparky gave a fake pout.

"You haven't changed a bit," she muttered. A strange cloud fell over her expression then, and she gently pushed his hand off of her head. "Have...have you been contacted been contacted by the gang, or….?"

Lea gave a slightly confused look at his love's expression. "No, not that I know of. I've been living with Isa, but he's the only one I've seen so far."

His Sparky frowned. "Maybe they don't know you're awake yet. It'd be best if you stayed hidden from them as long as possible. Isa should be able to help with that…." The woman's eyes went to another place. Lea felt the old comfort between them start to slip away. A slight panic started to intrude instead, but he kept his face stoic.

"How have you been? It looks like the year has treated you well."

Sparky drew back a bit. "I...I've been alright, Lea. But look, I've got to get back to work. I have to help the university president get ready."

"Just like that, eh?" Lea could practically see a distance growing between the two, though neither of them had made an effort to move away just yet. "Want to talk after?"

"I...I really can't, Lea. Sorry." Sparky quickly pushed past Lea, ensuring that no part of their bodies touched. The redhead turned around to speak again, but his love instead stated softly, "I'm glad that you're okay, Lea."

Then she was gone, having vanished in the mounds of people. Lea scratched his head, going back through the conversation to see what he may have said to make her run off like that. He decided to shift through the crowd to find her again. Maybe he could get her alone after the orientation, just for a moment. Just long enough to ask her a few more questions: Did she come to visit him in the hospital? How often? Did she miss him? Did she still l—?

When he found her again, the university president had stepped onto the stage and was giving a practiced greeting to the crowd. Sparky was off to the side, her shoulders wrapped in the arm of her darling, Riku. The white-haired man appeared to have matured as well. His hair was considerably shorter than when he was last seen, while his height had increased. Lea paid attention to no other details as Riku gave his girlfriend a quick kiss on the temple. Sparky smiled and reached up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Lea didn't want to see any more, so he just...left.


	4. Despite Warnings

**Part Four: Despite Warnings**

When Lea got home that night, Isa was in the same position as he'd been left. However, it seemed that he'd finished his previous book and was onto another one. When Lea returned, shutting the door with forced gentleness, his best friend looked up with immediate suspicion.

"You're home early," Isa commented not-so-casually.

"Yeah," Lea answered blandly. "Turns out you were right: the whole event was for squares." He laughed and started walking to his room.

"Ah. So you saw Her then."

Lea paused. Without turning around, he said, "Have you been stalking me, Isa? Didn't really peg you as that kinda guy."

"I don't _have_ to stalk you," Isa insisted, "you're just incredibly easy to read."

Lea harrumphed and turned around. He leaned casually against one of the apartment walls and folded his arms. "Looks like I'd better step up my game. I've lost my touch at being all secretive." He emphasized the last word with a mischievous grin. Isa's face remained in its usual frown. For the first time in a while, Lea could see the "X"-shaped scar along the bridge of his friend's nose, slightly obscured beneath long blue bangs. Lea could remember clearly how it was obtained; he quickly looked elsewhere.

Isa spoke up again, "I told you that you should move on. You should keep your distance from the past."

"And why's that?"

"Because it's for the best. For both of you. Your relationship was borderline toxic at times and did nothing more than hurt everyone involved."

"Ouch. Toxic? That's the word you want to use?"

"How would _you_ describe it?"

"I'd use the word...passionate." Lea grinned. "Like a fire. Sometimes it scalds ya, but, oh man, is the pain worth it."

"Enough joking around, Lea. Take this seriously. After the state you left her in, it's the least you can do."

"And what state _did_ I leave her in?"

Isa was quiet for a moment. He sighed and put his book down beside him. "A bad state, Lea. Do you remember what happened that day?"

Lea frowned, still not meeting his friend's gaze. "Parts of it."

Isa paused once more. "You'd best find out from her, though I'm certain that speaking to her is a poor decision. At least for the moment. Seeing you awake again may leave her...confused, to say the least."

"So her feelings haven't gone away then?" Lea's impish smile threatened to spread, though it was more out of habit than anything.

"It's not what you think." Isa stood, pulling his book up with him. "Leave her alone, Lea. For your sake and hers. She's finally moved on and in a good place in her life. Don't try and take that away from her."

"But things have changed, Isa." Lea's voice rose, his posture becoming stiff as he pushed himself off of the wall. " _I've_ changed."

"You think you can just _say_ you've changed, and all because you've woken up from a coma? That's not how it works."

"But it's true! I'm different now. I'm never going back to that old life. I'm...I've changed." Despite her presence being far away, Lea could feel the gap between him and Sparky widen. It was a dark pit, swallowing his words whole and leaving him with an empty, heartless emotion.

"That's something yet to be seen, Lea." Isa walked over to his friend, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "You don't just _quit_ the Black XIIIs. It's never that easy."

Lea's eye wandered to his friend's scar again. He huffed. "Don't you think I know that? Better than anyone else?!"

"Maybe you do. But as I said, that remains yet to be seen." Isa's expression softened. His yellow eyes showed a bit of vulnerability. "Please leave her alone, Lea. Leave your old life completely and move on. That's the only way you both will finish healing."

Lea sighed. "She was the only thing good about that life, though."

"Find your new path." Isa patted his friend's shoulder. "Do it for her. And more importantly, do it for yourself."

The next few months were a blur. School began and Lea was hit with a plethora of tests, notes, assignments, and other school activities. It kept him busy only until he learned which classes he could get by on bare-minimum effort. Then, he had free time to focus on other things.

When coming out of his final class, Lea found himself standing before Sparky's classroom. He'd seen her go in only once by chance, but had made it his mission to memorize the location. For the fourteenth time, he stood by the door and wondered if he could speak with her. He wondered if he should catch her coming out of class this time and see if she was willing to go to lunch or something. All he needed were a few minutes to get his questions answered.

But, yet again, he left just as Sparky and her classmates started filing out of the room. From a safe distance, he watched her head down the hall with some friends. They laughed and pushed each other playfully. Lea wondered what they were always finding so funny, but didn't press himself to find out. He instead would watch her for a moment, then leave. This was too frequent of an occurrence for his liking.

"Is that really you, Lea?"

The redhead turned around and gave a short groan.

"I'm getting tired of people asking me that," Lea answered the white-haired boy. Riku approached him, a backpack slung over his shoulder. It was black and white with panda ears along the top...Lea suspected that it didn't belong to the other man.

"Well, until everyone knows you're back from the grave, they're probably going to keep asking you that." Riku gave a small smile. It was polite—friendly even—but that didn't mean Lea had to like it.

"I guess I'll just have to be dead for real, then." Lea scratched the back of his head. "What do _you_ want?"

"I haven't seen you around much," Riku replied. "Though when I do, I usually see you staring at her."

"At who now?" Lea moved his weight to one leg. "Sorry. Memory's been fuzzy since I woke up."

Riku's smile disappeared and he gave a tired sigh. "You know who I mean. She hasn't noticed you yet, but I'm sure she will eventually."

"I'm not stalking her or anything," Lea insisted. However, he was starting to doubt that at this point. He stopped following everyone else on FB just so that only her notifications would pop up on his phone. And he admitted that standing around her classroom—then proceeding to not talk to her—had the qualifications of a stalker written all over it.

To justify that he was indeed _not_ a psycho, he quickly explained. "I've just been meaning to talk to her about something, but I can't seem to get the guts to do it yet."

"What did you want to talk about? Maybe I can relay the message."

Lea examined Riku's face quickly. The man's attentive expression was earnest. Despite all that they'd been through—love-triangle included—the redhead had to admit that the kid wasn't a bad guy. Nonetheless, he felt reluctant to share anything with Riku.

"Just a few questions. About old times." Lea glanced towards the classroom his Sparky had come out of. "About that day."

"The day of the fire." Riku inferred. He, too, took a glimpse over his shoulder at the room. "You don't remember?"

"Not all of it. The details are a little fuzzy." Lea didn't admit that the word "fire" wasn't in the memory at all.

Riku's gaze became a bit somber. "It's...kind of a long story. I don't even know all of the details myself. I only got there towards the end."

"Well, what happened at the end?"

Riku frowned for just a moment, but shook it off. "A lot. But I don't think this is the best place to talk about it. (Y/n) knows the most about what happened."

"I don't get why everyone is being so secretive about the whole thing," Lea muttered, shaking his head. "What the hell happened?"

"You saved her life," Riku answered plainly. "You pulled her out of a burning building. Her home, actually."

Lea rose a brow. "Her old home burned down?"

"Yeah. Though the cause is...unclear."

"Unclear how?"

Riku focused on something next to them, frowning again. "Look, I don't think this is a good time to talk about it. A lot of things happened that day. By the time I got there, you'd pulled (y/n) out of the fire and were sprawled on the ground. I think you'd hit your head somehow."

"Then what?"

"Then nothing." Riku didn't meet Lea's eyes until after he'd made that statement. "Then you were in a coma. You'll have to get the rest of the details from someone else."

"Gee thanks," Lea retorted. "You've been so helpful."

Riku ignored the comment and turned to leave. At that moment, Lea's phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and gave it a strange look. Isa had sent him a text:

 _Don't come to the apartment yet._

Lea replied quickly: _Y?_

There was no response. Despite the message, Lea felt it was best to head straight home. Things couldn't be that bad, could they?


End file.
